Jetset Loves Round Up 2015

The idea of Jetset Loves was in the works (subconsciously) years before we launched in September. After travelling to a different destination almost every month (this year and previous years), it was only natural to share what we experienced with our friends and family. Later, the interest of our site grew and expanded to a community of travellers, wanderers, explorers and curious minds. Our aim is to live an inspired life through travel. Our tagline: where style meets travel does exactly that; from trending eateries and stylish hotels, modern cultural sights, discovering new neighbourhoods to finding chic souvenirs to bring back. This is how Jetset Loves came to be, we hope you have enjoyed are posts so far.Here is our round-up from 2015 which took us on 11 trips, 8 new destinations, and 1 new country. This was also the year we did the most travelling within the US.January: Vermont, USA To kick off 2015, we road-tripped from New York City to Vermont. I had come across Woodstock (not to be mistaken for the festival that took place further south in New York state) in an issue of Travel and Leisure. The cover was what drew me to the location: an image of the village taken from high above on a hill looking down at the snowcapped historic buildings. It was enchanting, and I wanted to be part of it. That New Year's eve weekend, myself and my reluctant travelling hubby (or the RTH) went snowboarding–the second time in almost 10 years for me, and the first-time for the RTH. I’ll do a quick research update so I can post it on the blog, it will be helpful for those wanting to check out the quaint village and hit the slopes (it was a slow start to the season with not much snow, so let’s see what happens in January…).February: Austin, USASouthXSouthwest festival totally dominates the town of Austin in March, but lucky for us we were able to appreciate the food trucks and local eateries without the crowds. Because our site hadn’t launched yet you won’t find a posting on Austin. I’ll do a post before the next SXSW, you wouldn’t want to miss out on those finger licking sugar donuts from Little Lucy’s!April: Boston, USAI was in Boston for work to discuss a book design project—I’m an Art Director by day. ;) The RTH and I decided to extend the stay over a weekend to explore the neighbourhoods, and walk the Freedom trail. I was fifteen the last time I visited, so I only remembered bits of that family trip. It was the first time for the RTH, so we travelled by Amtrak in first class on the Acela. A really good tip from a friend is to get a Red Cap from Amtrak take you down to the platform before the train arrives. It will save you the stress of finding a seat amongst the throngs of fellow passengers once the track is announced. Don't forget to tip your Red Cap guy. :)May: Miami, USAWe were so excited for this trip since it was the first public holiday–Memorial Day in May– to mark the start of summer here in the US. It was also the first time we were able to bask in the sunshine with just our cossies (swimsuits/bikini). We stayed in the trendy area of South Beach and discovered some amazing spots for dinner and lunch, you can read about our neigbourhood guide and the cool street art at Wynwood Walls.June: Woodstock, USAYes, the same place where the festival took place in the 60’s. Cast aside your preconceptions of Woodstock. Well, not totally it’s still quite hippy dippy round the edges. The town became increasingly popular again as a weekend getaway with New York City folk like ourselves. We tried our first ever acai bowl here which has inspired us to make our own on the weekends–topped with granola, a sprinkling of coconut shavings and bee pollen and few berries. I feel healthy just writing about it1July: Vilnius, LithuaniaA UNESCO heritage city, and absolutely stunning. I had first visited the RTH’s hometown last summer before we got engaged. The cobbled streets and baroque architecture of the old town was to be the backdrop of our wedding. I had done a lot of research into places to eat, visit and stay when I put together a website for our guests. It’s such a beautiful city that I wouldn’t want you guys to miss out, so I’ll do a quick getaway guide in the beginning of 2016. A beauty lust which I did pick up from Lithuania are these amazing face masks which you can read about.August: Florence, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, Italy.What better place to honeymoon in Europe than Italia! We were blown away by everything this country had to offer: from the lip smacking gelatos, quaint medieval villages, stunning cliffside landscapes and the leather market in Florence (also, not forgetting their Fiat 500 bubble cars!). You can read more about our stay in one of the most exclusive resorts in Tuscany, the Castello di Casole hotel, shopping in Capri and private beach hangouts in Positano.September: Quebec City, CanadaHaving lived in New York for 6 years, we dread the last pubic holiday weekend in September, Labour Day—it just means that the summer will be over and winter will be fast approaching. Instead of wallowing, we booked a one-hour flight from NYC to this city reminiscent of a small town in France. It felt like an extension of our European summer holidays. Read about their traditional treat made with maple and also our destination guide to QC.October: Paris, FranceAs part of the blog I had included a Q+A I did wtih the RTH whilst he was on a photography assignment in Paris for fashion week. I had also asked him to pop into a popular apothecary, Buly 1803 to bring me back French beauty products I was curious to try. You can read about my review of those products as well as the entertaining Q+A we did on the cool concept store, Merci. November: Tulum, MexicoOur first time in Mexico, and it didn’t disappoint. The boho chic destination was a great getaway for Thanksgiving weekend or any weekend–so laidback we miss the feel of our toes in the sand. We were away for 5-days and able to try out a few eateries and browse the shop, you can read about our 5 best dining experiences and 5 Shops Not to Miss. December: Los Angeles, USAThis was not our first time to LA but it was our first to discover the hipster neighbourhood of Silver Lake (similar to Brooklyn) and the now semi-cleaned up spots of Downtown L.A. We just got back from our trip so you can read about it in the new year. This was also a fun trip as I was asked by the LUXE City Guide to review 5 restaurants to appear in their blog for 2016. I’ll post the link when it goes live.This has been amazing for us at Jetset Loves. As well as the new destinations listed above we have the wonderful “stories from abroad” –this section was introduced so I could regale tales from my travels in the past, from backpacking around the world in my 30’s to getting stopped at customs on the way back from Croatia, not forgetting the encounter with a scorpion from Greece! I hope it’s a fun read for you guys. Oh, and we also added a new series called the Jetset Loves Guide where we feature a local from a city/country to show us around their beautiful city. Stay tuned for more next year, and happy travels everyone! xxx